Family

The importance of dinner with the family is so often overlooked in today’s busy world. Years ago it was a valued part of daily life. While the desire for this still exists for many families, there is often little time together. None of that is good for someone who is trying to recover from substance abuse. Family support is one of the most important parts of growth. Having a good family time, like dinner is a wonderful way for that to happen. Here are some ways to make it work in today’s busy world.

Coordinate all the schedules in your home. Have everyone dedicate certain days to family dinner. Keep to that weekly. If something comes up you can plan for the upcoming week accommodating that adjustment. It’s not about time, it’s also about the results.

Make it a time for relaxation and fun. It’s a time for no phones or outside distractions for the family to bond and make memories. The simple act of children having their parent’s attention focused on them that builds the strength of emotions and moral development. If your child has questions they can ask mom or dad at that time. Sometimes that alone can prevent an addiction from happening. Their development is solid in the family environment and problems can be prevented before they begin. Entire studies have been done showing the results of the importance of the family dinner.

Imagine a child that has a question about something they were told is normal. It could be smoking or drinking. It could even be participating in illegal activities. Talking about that with you or the other parent at the dinner table can be another input into the social learning environment for your child. Children and teens both have shown to weigh more what they experience at home over what is experienced by their peers. That input could be the very thing to prevent trouble going forward.

Make conversation part of the flow at the family dinner. Talk about the day and how every’s day went. Those are golden opportunities to reach and connect with your family members. If it becomes a part of the daily meal you will see a bonding activity which happens. It can help over the years as the family grows over the years. Imagine how wonderful it will be to see your grandchildren and kids every week or each month continuing the family tradition of sharing family dinners.

Life is busy for everyone. When you take the time to teach your children by example and create a social environment of support before trouble hit, and even after when supporting someone in recovery, you create an environment of love and support. That makes a healthy person every time.

When you have a family member that is dealing with something difficult then family dinner time can be a way to build them up and help them feel better. That sense of safety and love can often be the difference between success and failure.

With the busy schedule and parents having to do more than two jobs for survival, sharing meals is becoming impossible. Every member of the family ends up eating meals by themselves. For some parents, parenting has simply become financial support. Chronic diseases such as diabetes are also on the rise because of unhealthy eating.

This is why ensuring you spare a little time at least five days a week to catch up with your family for dinner is a small price to pay. Here are 6 benefits of having dinner together as a family;

Kids are Likely to Learn to Eat Healthy Food

Consumption of junk food is on the rise. Most of the USA kids are obese. Being overweight puts the children health at a high risk. A 2000 research showed that kids between the age of nine and ten who eat with their families, tend to feed on vegetables and fruits. Having dinner as a family is, therefore, the first way to keep your kids healthy.

Health Meals Equals Healthy Kids

Research showed that children who share meals with their families are healthy. This means they are less likely to suffer from food disorders, anxiety or experience suicidal thoughts.

The logic behind is the parents who share meals with their kids are aware of their character. The parents can easily spot the child is suffering some stress at an earlier stage.

Dinner Boosts the Children’s Performance

Kids who share meals with their families are likely to perform well in school. Only 9% of children who share family dinners score grade Cs and below.

This is because family dinner allows conversations. The children learn from their parents. Family meals give the kids a chance to learn new vocabulary.

Family Dinners Produces Principled Kids

Amazingly, children who have many family dinners are principled. These kids can say ‘’no’’ The kids are therefore able to evade use of drugs.

With the growing drug addiction among teenagers, it is important to take this as a precaution.

Family Dinner is a Stress Remedy

Family dinner has been proved to be a stress reliever. After a long day at work, having a family dinner calms down and relaxes the body.

Having dinner with your family keeps you active at work. It helps you get through the long hours of work. This is quite refreshing.

It’s the Perfect Setting to Introduce Kids to New Food

Kids can be very stubborn. Children can be reluctant to try out new foods. Many children will only want to stick to your favorite dishes.

Family dinner gives you an opportunity to teach the kids to eat what they don’t like. A simple rule of being allowed to leave the table after finishing food transforms the children feeding habits magically.

Final Verdict

The busy schedules are slowly breaking up families. One of the greatest effects is poor parenting. Sometimes with the demanding economy, it is impossible to avoid the two or three jobs. Family dinner is a small way of compensating for missed family moments.

I am fortunate enough to be blessed with two pairs of grandparents, two wonderful parents, amazing siblings, a lovely husband, and two children of our own. Family has always been super important to me. Over the years, I have learned a few things that make it possible to have a happy family. There are certain habits you should get into.

1. Laugh together.

It’s so important to have a good time with your family. Make sure to make time for laughter, whether it’s playing games together, watching funny movies, or singing karaoke. There are tons of things you can do that will bring about laughter and joy, and these things are very important to keeping a family happy and healthy.

2. Eat together.

This doesn’t have to be every night, but it’s great to have a family dinner at least once or twice a week. If it’s possible for you to have a family dinner every night of the week, definitely do that, but don’t force everyone to have dinner together every night. Eating together as many times a week as you can is a great thing to do.

3. Learn together.

It’s so much fun to learn a new skill with your family. A lot of families will attend cooking classes together or learn new dances by watching YouTube videos. There are a ton of other things you all could learn together. Try taking classes, going to festivals, or learning new things on the internet.

4. Talk to each other.

Having good communication is the key to having a happy family. It’s important that everyone feels that they can be open and honest with each other. If problems arise, the best way to come up with solutions is for everyone to be honest and open.

5. Travel together.

Traveling with your family is one of the best things you can do. Having new experiences, seeing new things, and visiting new places will make your family closer than ever.

So there you have it. Five habits that are guaranteed to make your family a little closer and a little happier.